A wise man once said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, as a police officer, I have some urgent things to say to good people.
Day after day my men and I struggle to hold back a tidal wave of crime. Something has gone terribly wrong with our once-proud American way of life. It has happened in the area of values. A key ingredient is disappearing, and I think I know what it is: accountability (責(zé)任感).
My job as a police pfficer is to impose accountability on people who refuse, or have never learned, to impose it on themselves. But as every policeman knows, external control on people's behavior is far less effective than internal restraints such as guilt, shame and embarrassment.
Fortunately there are still communities—smaller towns, usually—where schools maintain discipline and where parents hold up standards that proclaim:
"In this family certain things are not tolerated—they simply are not done!"
Yet more and more, especially in our large cities and suburbs, these inner restraints are loosening. Your typical robber has none. He considers your property his property; he takes what he wants, including your life if you enrage him.
The main cause of this break-down is a radical shift in attitudes. Thirty years ago, if a crime was committed, society was considered the victim. Now, in a shocking reversal, it's the criminal who is considered victimized: by his underprivileged upbringing, by the school that didn't teach him to read, by the church that failed to reach him with moral guidance, by the parents who didn't provide a stable home.
I don't believe it. Many others in equally disadvantaged circumstances choose not to engage in criminal activities. If we free the criminal, even partly, from accountability, we become a society of endless excuses where no one accepts responsibility for anything.
Americans desperately need more people who believe that the person who commits a crime is the one responsible for it.
21. What the wise man said suggests that______.
A. it's certain that evil will prevail if good men do nothing about it
B. it's unnecessary for good people to do anything in face of evil
C. it's only natural for virtue to defeat evil
D. it's desirable for good men to keep away from evil
22. According to the author, if a person is found guilty of a crime, ______.
A. society is to be held responsible
B. modern civilization is responsible for it
C. the standards of living should be improved
D. the criminal himself should bear the blame
23. Compared with those in small towns, people in large cities have A. better sense of discipline B. more mutual respect C. less effective government D. less self-discipline
24. The writer is sorry to have noticed that______.
A. people in large cities tend to excuse criminals
B. people in small towns still stick to old discipline and standards
C. today's society lacks sympathy for people in difficulty
D. people in disadvantaged circumstances are engaged in criminal activities
25. The key point of the passage is that
A. stricter discipline should be maintained in schools and families
B. more good examples should be set for people to follow
C. more people should accept the value of accountability
D. more restrictions should be imposed on people
21. A 22. D 23. D 24. A 25. C
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